Playing with Music
by TravelingBackpack
Summary: Newly instated Captain Jim Kirk is trying to raise the morale of his crew, and the solution comes to him by a funny accident with the ship's music library. One particularly odd playlist stands out from all the rest. References songs by Lady Antebellum, Mission Impossible, and YouTube's Potter Puppet Pals. All characters belong to Star Trek.


Playing with Music

(Star Trek One-Shot)

Just because the events between the Federation and Nero were over, that did not mean everything aboard the _Enterprise _was okay.

When James Kirk – known to his peers as Jim – was sworn into his new position as the ship's captain, Admiral Pike had taken time during his physical/mental recovery to teach him the ropes. Most of the training Jim had received outside of Pike's mentorship involved "leadership workshop" groups with him and the Federation's other captains and first officers. But, Pike taught him the most important bit of running a starship.

"Morale, kid." Pike had winced and shifted uncomfortably in his temporary wheelchair. "You have to keep the morale high. Show your officers you care about them. Learn all of their names. Make sure they know they're in a safe and secure environment, especially when they need to collaborate in groups. Otherwise, your ship won't be running for long."

Jim highly doubted that the _Enterprise_ was in danger of mass crew resignation, but he could sense the tension that still drifted through the corridors, the fear and worry that was whispered amongst the crew members. And he had already begun to see changes in his officers' dispositions.

Spock had returned to his annoyingly calm and collected self, although there were some times Jim could swear he saw his shoulders droop. _Just a little bit, _he thought. He hadn't brought this up to his first officer, mainly because Spock would deny it, but also because Jim feared another Vulcan nerve pinch.

Chekov was obviously trying to be optimistic, but he still clearly felt guilt over the events of Vulcan, despite everyone's reassurances Lady Amanda's death wasn't his fault. Every now and then, the boy would glance back at Spock, and that smile would flicker before he turned back to his post.

Bones hadn't really changed much. He was still fairly grumpy, annoyed by everything around him. The only thing he wasn't doing was commenting about how space would be the death of them, which was a joke he had been constantly repeating up until the encounter with Nero. Now, there was a grimace that seemed to shout "I told you so".

Everyone had been affected in one way or another. The only one who seemed to be positively affected by the previous events was Scotty, who had not been present for most of the traumatic events, and who had his hands full with the _Enterprise's _warp core.

Jim didn't know how the idea came to him. He supposed that it started after Pike had advised him with knowing every function of the ship – "Mandatory and miscellaneous", the Admiral had said. Jim had come to know every mandatory operation, but he hadn't spent much time exploring the miscellaneous.

So, one day, when the ship was drifting through deep space, Jim managed to find a function labeled "Music" on his main computer. He selected the option thinking it was a standard library of music approved by Starfleet.

What he didn't expect was for all of the music to be separated into different folders, labeled by crew members.

_Huh,_ he thought as he clicked the "Shuffle" option, unaware of what was about to happen.

Suddenly, Earth country music came blasting through the speakers of the ship. All on deck covered their ears as Jim adjusted the volume and grinned.

"Fun tool," he said.

"What did you do?" Uhura demanded from her station.

"Apparently, I started Bones's playlist. Wait a sec… _Bones!"_ Jim swiveled his chair around just in time to see Leonard McCoy's face glaring at him from only inches away.

"Shut it off," Bones said.

"But, it's so much toe-tapping fun!" Jim said, as song "Compass" continued to play. "Man, this is an old one. Who is this? Band Perry? Little Big Town?"

"Lady Antebellum, shut it off," Bones answered in one breath.

"I remember this song," an ensign said. When Jim looked back, he saw her – _Tasha,_ he remembered – bobbing her head. "My parents said this is a classic. I remember memorizing it for their anniversary." Before anyone could react, she began singing along to the chorus. Other voices began to join in, starting as a soft almost hum, and turning into what Jim could only compare to a karaoke party. Soon, even Bones had lost his grimace to join along. It was like that for the next song, and the song after that, and the one after that.

And so, it became a daily routine.

Jim would shuffle every playlist, minus the ones he had played previously, and whatever was chosen would be their space exploration soundtrack for the day. In this, he learned a few things about his chief officers:

First, Chekov enjoyed Disney music. So did Uhura. Their playlists were so similar that they weren't sure whose was whose. Of course, Chekov's playlist was slowly identified as the Russian dubs of songs began to surface, but that didn't stop the communications officer from joining in.

Scotty, despite Jim's assumptions, did not have a list filled with Scottish folk songs. Instead, he appeared to really have a thing for original soundtracks and instrumentals. In particular, he appeared to like music from old Earth spy movies. At one point, while playing his soundtrack, Jim had called in to Scotty, only to hear the engineer belting out the main tune to "Mission Impossible" while clanging away at something.

Sulu was a musical junkie, and he apparently had every musical on his list, from the newest Broadway production to the original cast of "Hamilton". He and several other officers led a rap with Lin-Manuel Miranda that brought down the house – er, ship – and resulted in thunderous applause.

This had been going on for weeks, and Jim could see the morale of his crew slowly increase. Not only that, but the officers were becoming closer to each other. Even the shier ensigns began to reach out to their more extraverted counterparts.

One day, Jim selected "Shuffle". He didn't look at the name of the playlist's owner however, because he was suddenly caught off guard by a strange ticking sound.

"What the…?"

Before he could react, all of the ensigns began chanting along to a song he did not recognize. Even Chekov was grinning and singing along.

"Anyone know what this is?" Jim asked.

"I've heard of this," Uhura admitted. "I think it's called 'The Mysterious Ticking Noise'. It was a video on the platform formerly known as YouTube."

"I'm guessing it went viral."

"Supposedly, it's a classic, although I've never heard it until today."

"Ugh, gee," Bones groaned, then chuckled. "Which poor soul did you pick on today, Jim?" Jim was about to answer when he caught the name in which the playlist belonged. His eyes widened, but he didn't turn around, not even when his first officer rose from his seat and stood by the speakers.

"It belongs to Ensign Amanda," Jim said, hoping no one would acknowledge that there wasn't an Ensign Amanda onboard. There were hundreds of people on the ship, after all, and only he was expected to know all of their names.

Thankfully, this was all the information the crew required as they continued to sing along to the widest variety of songs Jim had heard yet. There did not seem to be a true pattern. One minute, a "YouTube" song would be playing, the next a classic love song, the next a lively dance song. There were even folk songs scattered here and there.

When the end of the playlist was reached, the whole crew gave a cheer. Jim finally risked a glance back to his first officer, who had been standing by the speakers the whole time, his eyes closed. As they opened, Spock shot him a grateful look and excused himself into the corridor.

"Mr. Sulu," Jim instructed, "take over for a minute." Sulu nodded, and the captain went after his first officer.

He found him sitting on a bench in a hallway where the least officers were present. The look on the Vulcan's face was content enough, but there was something else in his eyes. And his shoulders were definitely drooping.

Jim sat down next to his best friend.

"That was a rather illogical selection, Spock," he said at last. The first officer didn't answer immediately, just sort of stared into the distance like he was seeing something no one else could.

"My mother insisted on introducing me to Earth music," he said at last. "Some of those songs she grew up with. Others she added over the years. She was trying to teach me to enjoy myself, laugh. Participate in this act you humans call 'fun'."

"She had good taste."

"I never thought so. I honestly thought her music was the most obscure and ridiculous compilation I had ever heard. Definitely illogical, maybe even borderline childish. If I were more human than Vulcan, I might have been embarrassed." Spock shook his head, and Jim managed a smile.

"Parents," he said. "My mom was the one who introduced me to the Beastie Boys." He paused before speaking again. "You know, Spock, I didn't realize it was yours. Why didn't you say anything? I would have turned it off."

"I needed to hear it." This was the last thing Jim had expected to hear. Spock took a deep breath. "I needed to remember her. Those songs, no matter how terrible they are, they were a part of her."

"You needed to feel like she was here."

"She's gone. Still, hearing them, watching everyone laughing and 'having fun'… it brought back memories of her." The two sat quietly for a few minutes, and Jim realized that as emotionless as his first officer claimed to be, Spock did have feelings. And right now, he was grieving.

"If you need to go off duty for a time, Mr. Spock," Jim said, "I completely understand."

"Thank you, Captain," the other replied. "But, that will be unnecessary. I am not so emotionally compromised that I cannot carry out my duties." With these words, the Vulcan stood. And even though the grief was still there, Jim could see Spock standing a little taller, as if (whether he would actually admit it or not) a weight was gradually being lifted from him. The two men stood and began their walk back to the bridge. Before opening the door, Spock paused.

"What is it?" Jim asked.

"Captain, I have a request to make, and it will seem illogical to ask given how you have already reacted in front of the crew…"

"The request is..." Jim prompted.

"Whatever you do, do not discuss any of this with Doctor McCoy." Was that fear in Spock's eyes? Jim bit back a grin and nodded.

"Of course, Mr. Spock."


End file.
